Colby: September (5 page)

E
lla was practically bounding
on her toes with excitement. Brushing her hand down her smock, she smoothed out nonexistent wrinkles. A bubble of giddy laughter burst from her lips unexpectedly. The other spa employees gave her a knowing look. She bet they did the same thing when they’d been hired.

Getting a job at Satyr was actually rather difficult. After the initial hiring phase when the spa first opened, the jobs were few and
very
far between. The people who worked there stayed for as long as possible. When she’d gotten a call from Vasilis, the spa manager, the day before, she’d been in a bit of shock. Everything that happened once she hung up was now all a happy blur.

Claire, the lead massage therapist, nudged her gently. “Here comes one of Satyr’s hottest bartenders,” she whispered before plastering on what Ella thought was supposed to be an enticing smile. To her, Claire looked to be in pain; like her bra was on too tight, or her panties were in a wad up her cute ass. “He’s also quite the heartbreaker.”

Definitely not the first time Ella had heard that. She had a hard time connecting that image with the one she had.

Claire smoothed back her blonde hair. “I don’t know a single woman who has gone out with him that has lasted more than two weeks. They all fall madly in love with him. I think it has something to do with him being a Djinn. That whole ridiculous three wishes crap.” She looked around and leaned closer to Ella. “I plan on being the one to break him,” she said. The woman made it sound like a secret, but the snorts from some of the other spa employees told her otherwise.

Good to know.
Ella turned her head in the direction Claire was looking, and her eyes bugged out at the sight coming toward them.

For the love of Hecate.
It was Colby. He strode up to them, a panty-melting smile curving his lips. She’d desperately wanted to call him. After she realized she’d lost the number, she figured he would have moved on, and showing back up at the Club would have been embarrassing as hell.

“Hi, Colby,” Claire simpered.

“Hi, Claire,” he said in an offhand manner before turning his attention to Ella. He casually placed one of his big, warm hands on her back, slowly sliding it down. “Ella.” A bit of déjà vu echoed in her body. The night at the Club came pressing down on her. His hand. The soft bed. Waking up and seeing him.

“Colby,” she squeaked. “It’s good to see you again.” Ella worked to slow her heartbeat and breathe normally. Her pseudo-boss just made a claim on the man. She needed to keep that in mind. For all Ella knew, he’d moved on. He and Claire could have had a fight, and his touching her was a way to make Claire jealous. Or, get back at her. Or, something equally ridiculous when it came to relationships.

Claire stiffened next to Ella.
Uh oh.
It might be too late.

“Oh, I didn’t realize you knew each other, Ella,” she bit out.

Ella blinked a couple times in surprise before stepping away from Colby’s touch. It pained her to do so. She’d just gotten the job, and pissing off the woman who would be her first line supervisor was
not
on her list of things to do. “Oh, not really,” Ella stammered. “A couple weeks ago, before I got the job, he, uh, helped…” she trailed off. She didn’t want to come off sounding like she couldn’t take care of herself, or that she was an idiot with a drinking problem. “My friends and I, it was sort of a celebration. Lizzy got this promotion…”

“We met at the Club,” Colby broke in. Ella sighed a breath of relief for the rescue. “One of her friends was getting out of hand.” And that relief only lasted a second. She took offense on Lizzy’s behalf.

“Hey! She wasn’t out of hand.”

A blond eyebrow rose sharply. Daring her to contradict him again.

Ella rolled her eyes. “Yet,” she mumbled, but they all heard her. “Anyway, Colby made sure we all got home safely. That’s it.”

Ella had no intention of telling the other woman that she’d slept in Colby’s back room bed, and harbored many a dirty dream about the man since. If only she hadn’t lost his phone number and lost any nerve she may have had to find him again. She sighed and Colby looked at her funny.

“Oh.” Claire appeared to relax slightly at the information. Not fully. There was an edge to her that vibrated around her aura. If Ella wanted, she could focus on the woman and get a good glimpse of it, thanks to her witchy ways. And yet, there was a good chance Claire could mask her aura, seeing she was a witch as well. The conundrums of magic.

Colby snorted softly and smirked. He leveled a beseeching gaze at Claire. “Do you mind if I borrow Ella for a moment? I wanted to make sure her friends were doing okay. You know, part of that customer service satisfaction thing.”

Claire hummed lightly. Ella wasn’t convinced the woman was over being brushed off earlier. A woman’s ego was almost as fragile as a man’s. “If you don’t mind walking and talking to her, then that’s fine. We need to get to the spa so we can start her training.”

Colby tilted his head and waved with his hand. “After you, my dear.” He flashed a charming smile that had Ella wanting to snort. It was fake as hell, and he definitely earned the heartbreaker title being thrown around in the same sentence as his name. She’d have to keep that in mind.

Claire smirked and sashayed in front of them. She put an extra swivel in her hips as she walked away. “Follow me then.” Ella made a move to trail behind her, but Colby held her back. When the other woman was a good distance ahead of them, Colby pressed a firm hand in the middle of her back, propelling her forward.

They walked in silence until they were out of the room. After a series of twists and turns, (she’d be lucky if she ever remembered her way to the conference room) Colby dipped his head closer to hers.

“I’m surprised to see you here.”

Ella glanced up, her lips coming perilously close to his. “I’m surprised to be here.”

Colby reared back slightly. “Really?”

“Definitely. I was having a typical Sunday morning lounging around my apartment, when I got a call from Mr. Vasilis, or is it just Vasilis? Anyway, he told me a very influential client requested me. When he informed her I didn’t work here, she told him it was in his best interest to make it happen. So, he did, and now here I am.” Ella still couldn’t believe it, and she kept pinching herself to check if it was real. “There was no way I was going to pass up a chance to work here. It’s like a dream coming to life.”

“Wow. I didn’t think they were hiring at the spa. I’m glad you’re here though.”

“Me too,” she smiled at him. “And my friends are fine. Thanks for making sure they got home and everything. Lizzy had a horrific hangover the next day.”

“I would imagine so. Um, that brings me to something else.”

“Oh?”

“I thought you would have called.”

Ella blushed. Her cheeks heating painfully. “I planned on it. By the time I got home and collapsed into bed…”

“Nothing happened to you on the way, did it?” He interrupted with a bit of panic lacing his voice.

Her brows dipped and she frowned. “No. I’m close by, and I have defensive measures if I need them.” She held up her right hand and formed a ball of fire in her palm. “I lost your number,” she admitted, extinguishing the flames. “Somewhere between here and there, it disappeared. I would have called,” she insisted. “I wanted to, but then I was embarrassed and convinced myself you were just being nice. It was a whole snowball-effect of second-guessing.”

“Never second guess yourself.” Colby stopped walking and turned her to face him. He rubbed a hand down her left arm before dropping it and shoving his hand in his front pocket. A soft smile graced his lips, and something that looked an awful lot like relief flashed in his blue eyes. “Good to know.”

Ella frowned even harder when he didn’t say anything else. After a beat or two, she did a mental shrug. She could only guess that he’d been concerned about her and nothing else. The guy was definitely giving off mixed signals at the moment.

“Okay then. I should get inside.” She looked to the glass doors. Claire stood on the other side with an expectant look on her face. She tapped her finger to her nonexistent watch. Work, right. She needed to get to work because this was her dream job, but maybe not her dream man.

A loud squawk came from his back pocket, followed by a man’s voice. “
Let’s go, Noble. Quit flirting with the new girl.”

Colby had the decency to cringe. He pulled the radio from his pocket. “Fuck off, Ramsey. Just making sure she and her friends made it home oaky.”

“
Yeah, right. Did you tell her how good her ass looked in those pants?”

“Damn it, Holden.”

Loud guffaws came through the tiny speaker. “
She standing right there?”

“You’re an asshole.” Colby turned the radio off and shoved it back in his pocket. He looked chagrined. “Sorry about that. I don’t know if you remember, but Holden is the other bar manager with me. We have some things to go over still.” He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck and blushed. It was cute as hell.

“Don’t worry about it. My ass does fill out these slacks. Makes it look pretty nice too.” His eyes rounded in surprise, making her giggle. “I should get going. Thanks for walking me here and seeing about my friends. I’ll let them know the hot bartender asked about them.”

Colby grinned and Ella felt the breath whoosh from her lungs. He was damn devastating. “That was just an excuse. I really just wanted to get you alone and didn’t think Claire would leave us otherwise.”

Claire pushed open the spa door. “Are you coming, Ella? We have a lot to do.”

“Yes,” she replied to her. Ella let her gaze rest on Colby again, a sly little smile on her face. “I think you’re right. She says she has plans for you.”

“What?” He didn’t sound pleased at all.

“Something about being the one to last longer than a week.”

Colby snorted and shook his head. “Not gonna happen. I have my eye on someone else.” He winked. She blushed. It was a vicious cycle at that point.

“Anyway, I need to get to work before her head explodes. Thanks again. Maybe I’ll see you around, now that I work here.”

He nodded. A flicker of heat flashed in his eyes. If Ella didn’t know better, she’d think he was seriously interested in her, and not in the
hope your friends are okay
way. “I’m sure you will.”

Ella grabbed the door from Claire and walked through. At the last second, Ella turned around and called out, “Tell your friend thanks for the compliment.”

Colby frowned and grunted. “Sure. I’ll let him know.”

Ella allowed the door to swing shut. She cleared Colby from her mind and focused on Claire. “Where do we start?”

C
olby hurried
through the halls and made his way to the Club. He passed his hand over the hidden panel and the door slid open to the office. The first thing he saw once the door shut behind him was Holden’s smug face.

“You’re such an asshole,” Colby growled. In that moment, he wished he had the power to rip the guy’s throat out. Some other supernatural ability to make him pay for saying the shit he did without an opportunity for backlash. With Holden being a Warlock, that was out of the question. The only thing that would happen would be retribution in the form of itchy balls or some other equally disturbing bodily function. The guy’s sense of moral code was seriously fucked.

Holden tilted his head back and laughed his ass off. Yep, his friend was definitely an asshole. “She was seriously standing right there?” He finally said when he got his laughter under control.

Colby dropped down onto the bed. “Yeah, and she said thanks for the compliment,” Colby grumbled. He didn’t need Holden ratting him out to Ella about not passing along the message, no matter how much he didn’t want to.

Holden grinned. “Awesome. I’ll have to tell her how much I appreciate it in person too.” He did a sleazy eye wiggle thing that had Colby flipping him the bird.

E
arly the next day
, Ella stepped into the room she’d been assigned to in the spa in order to set it up, only to be frozen on the spot by a large male figure lounging on her table. The man was stretched out, hands folded behind his head, one leg cocked up. His eyes were shut and utter relaxation poured from him. His slightly long, dark brown hair was fanned out over his arms and kissable lips emphasized by his facial hair.

She’d always been a sucker for a man with facial hair. Especially when it rubbed against her skin in the naughtiest of ways.

No!
Ella banished the wicked thoughts trying to crowd her mind. She took a tentative step back, hoping she could get back out the door before he realized she was there.

“Good morning, Ella,” the mystery man rumbled. His chest expanded on a breath, and next thing she knew, he sat up and faced her.

“Um, good morning.” There was no choice now but to walk into the room fully.

A slow grin lifted one corner of his mouth. “I’m Holden. Holden Ramsey,” he said. His brilliant dove grey eyes sparkled with mischief.

Ramsey
…she knew that name. She watched as his eyes traveled down her body and landed in the vicinity of her wide hips.

“Oh, the
nice ass
compliment.” She grinned and stepped closer to him. She held out her hand, which he took. A small zip of familiar power shot up her arm. “Warlock.”

He grinned and rubbed his thumb across the back of her hand, that he wouldn’t let go. “Witch.”

Tugging lightly, she extricated her hand from his. Keeping a wide berth of him, Ella fell into her routine. She wiped down the counters and cabinets. Checked the small sound system, bringing up her preferred relaxation music. All of the time keeping an eye on the man watching her. “Was there something I could help you with?”

Holden’s eyes tracked her as she shuffled around. “Not really.”

She cast a quick questioning glance at him. “Then, why are you here?”

“To annoy a friend.” He shrugged like it was an everyday event.

“So, the ass comment…” Because who didn’t wonder when a guy made a comment like that, and then acted like he wasn’t interested.

“Was true. You have a mighty fine ass. But my buddy needs a fire lit under his. I’m just helping that along. Giving him a shove in the right direction. There are times when he doesn’t know what’s best for him. I’m a nice enough friend to help him out.”

Ella snorted. “And not the least bit shy about letting people know. And what’s your buddy’s name, if you don’t mind me asking?” She had a good idea, but having it confirmed was always nice.

Holden got off the table and came over to where she stood smelling the different lotions and oils, seeing what was at her disposal. Claire told her she could use whatever she wanted, but preferred her to pick from what was on hand. Unless there was a special request, of course, but seeing how Ella was new, Claire doubted that would happen.

“You’re a healing witch?” He deftly asked, avoiding her question.

Being that he was a warlock and actually knew there were different kinds of witches, she responded. “You know I am.”

“And you know who my buddy is.”

A small intimate smile curved her lips. “Colby.” Damn, even saying the name, her body tingled with anticipation. Two simple interactions and she was smitten with the man. And, she wasn’t quite sure why, though; other than him being rather good looking. And kind. And a little bit protective, even if he didn’t know he was doing it. And a gentleman.

Oh,
never mind. She knew why. She couldn’t forget the comforting warmth she felt around him. Like he was home, but not the kind of home she grew up in.

“Got it in one.” Holden picked up the bottle of apricot kernel oil and handed it to her before lying back down. He brushed his hair out of the way and waited; eyes closed, hands folded on his broad chest, and legs crossed at his ankles. The man apparently knew his oils. Apricot kernel was mostly used on faces. It was deeply nourishing and a useful source of Vitamin A and essential fatty acids. It was light in texture and absorbed easily into the skin. The perfect oil to aid in relaxation and smoothing of the face.

Ella hit play on the sound system, filling the room with soft crashing waves. Clipping on her massage oil holster, she slipped the bottle Holden picked out into the pocket and made her way over to him. With a couple of squirts of oil in her palm, she rubbed her hands together, then went to work. She worked her way down his forehead with her thumbs, slowly fanning them out. Over his sharp cheekbones. Along his strong jaw.

For a good fifteen minutes she rubbed, fanned, and applied light pressure over his face and neck. Holden grunted and groaned. His eyes rolled back and forth behind his closed lids, occasionally opening with a heavy-sated look. She finished him off by rubbing the lobes of his ears between her thumbs and pointer fingers. A full body shudder visibly shook him. She focused on the aura surrounding his spirit for a moment. It was more difficult with witches and warlocks. They had the ability to alter theirs to fit what they needed. Holden’s shifted from an orange, meaning determination and vitality, to a bluish purple, which represented balance and wisdom.

Running her fingers lightly over his face briefly to end the session, she had the impulse to kiss him on the forehead. Leaning down, she whispered against his skin, “Benedicentur cum pace et statera,” then brushed her lips against him. She blew softly and a small thread of silver air-like mist escaped her lips and ghosted over him.

Holden melted into the table with a sigh and she stepped away. When she turned to leave, she realized she hadn’t pulled the privacy shade down over the glass in the door. Colby stood on the opposite side, jaw clenched, and there was a hard set to his eyes that she didn’t like.

He spun away before her brain even engaged and processed what had happened. He, apparently, assumed the worst. She would never understand men and their need to jump to conclusions.

I
t fucking figured
!

Colby went to the spa to see if Ella was around, without Claire’s ever watchful eye, so he could have a conversation with her, maybe ask her for a coffee, and he sees Holden flat on his back with Ella hovering over him. The man told him he would pursue her, but in the back of his mind, Colby hadn’t really believed him. Holden wasn’t
that
huge of a dick.

Granted, she stood at his head, but he’d seen the hard-on his friend sported. He didn’t want to, but his mind and eyes went there. The guy’s jeans had been bulged, the outline of his dick easy to see.

He knew Holden. He liked the chase and the conquest. He wasn’t so much into what happened after or making things long-term. Holden was as likely to want to settle down with the woman as Colby was.

He paused in the middle of the hallway as he stormed back to the bar office.
Liar.
Come to think of it, he
did
want to, well, maybe not settle down at the moment, but at least have that option with her. He’d thought it was a real possibility with her.

Well, fuck. Maybe he’d been wrong when he thought she was interested. The press of her lips against another man’s face. That was
not
part of a typical massage. Colby hadn’t even gotten a kiss on the cheek for the trouble he went through the other evening. He’d kissed hers, but it wasn’t the same thing.

Okay, it wasn’t trouble. He’d loved taking care of her. Wanted to do it more. Fuck, the whole situation was a mess.

In the distance, he heard the swish of a door closing, and the soft crunch of feet moving quickly over the carpet. It didn’t even register as a thought that Ella would come after him. At least not until her hand snaked between his body and arm, looping around and holding tight.

“Hey, Colby. You ran off before I could even make it out of the room. Thank Hecate you didn’t use your super Djinn speed to get away.” She laughed lightly, the sound carefree and delightful. It spun around him, skating along his skin. Attempting to tease a smile out of him.

“You looked busy back there.” His words came out stiff. Damn, he sounded jealous. Something he never pictured himself to be.

She made a huffing noise. “Not really. Holden was in my room when I went to set it up. I think he was just looking for a free massage.” She slowed down and canted her head toward him. “You guys don’t get free massages and stuff, do you? I’m still learning all of the rules. Yesterday was basically a blur of activity that left my mind spinning.”

“I think he wanted more than a massage. You couldn’t have missed the hard-on in his pants.”

Ella let out a full-bodied laugh. “That’s a normal reaction, and I don’t even acknowledge it anymore. Some therapists take it as a compliment that the person is enjoying it that much.”

He couldn’t help smiling at her answer. Relief that she didn’t notice what was clearly so obvious loosened up his chest. “To answer your question, no. We get some things for free and others at a discounted rate, like spa services. Otherwise, we’d all be in there getting treatments, and you guys wouldn’t have time for actual clients.”

They got to the end of the hallway relatively quick and stopped. Ella let go of his arm and looked back toward the spa. “I should probably get back. I think your friend fell asleep, and waking up a warlock is such a pain in the ass.” The roll of her eyes had him chuckling.

It took a second for her words to sink in. “Wait, how would you know?” Because he didn’t like the idea she knew that, or even how she came about that knowledge.

Ella snorted. “My brothers. My sister and I had to resort to alternate methods when they wouldn’t get up, the little shits. Mom warned us it would happen. She tended to use water. Ruby, my sister, took to electric shock, and I stuck with bolts of fire. Warlocks are such drama queens. My family knows I’ll never marry one, let alone date one.”

An even better thing to know. “Fire seems to be your specialty,” he smirked.

“That’s right. How did you know?” Her eyes opened in surprise, then shifted quickly, dancing with merriment. “Never mind. The night at the Club. Yeah. I have a bit of a fire bug in me.”

“You do seem to have a flair for it.”

Colby caught the sound of the spa door opening. Without any other noise around, it was easy to pick up in the empty hall.

“Ella,” a petite dark-haired pixie called out, with a lot more lung power than he would have anticipated. She flitted down the hall, zooming toward them. She hovered next to Ella, the near translucent wings fluttering a million beats per minute. “There you are. Did you know there’s a guy asleep in your room?”

“I do. You know, Bianca,” Ella drawled, “if you wanted to wake him up, I wouldn’t mind.”

Bianca’s eyes brightened with a spark of excitement. “Oh, I don’t mind at all.”

Before Ella had a chance to say
thank you
, Bianca was off down the hall again. Bits of black pixie dust wafting to the ground in her wake. They both watched her go, leaving them in silence. One filled with glances back and forth.

“I guess that’s my cue to get back to work.”

“I guess so.” Colby was at a loss as to what else to say or do at the moment. He’d originally gone there to ask her out, but seeing Holden there—that plan had flown right out of his head. He didn’t think he could get that moment back.

Without warning, she stood on her tiptoes and leaned into him. Her hands pressed against his chest. She brushed a fleeting kiss against his lips. “I’ll see you later.” She dropped flat on her feet and turned in the opposite direction. She got halfway down the hall before she turned back to him. “What was it that you wanted, Colby?”

His immediate response was
you.
Thankfully, that didn’t come tumbling out of his mouth. “Uh, I wanted to know if you’d like to grab a coffee or a drink or something with me sometime.” He could have slapped himself on the forehead.
Smooth, Noble.
He sounded like a damn sixteen-year-old boy asking out a girl for the first time.

A full smile bloomed on her face. Her rounded cheeks turning pink. He was beginning to live for the moment’s he made her blush. “I’d love to.” In the blink of an eye, she stood next to him again. Digging in her pocket, she pulled out a pen and grabbed his right arm, turning it so his inner forearm faced her. “Here’s my number. Hopefully, you’ll do better than me and not lose it.” The pen made a clicking noise, and she shoved it back in her pocket. Another soft peck on the lips and she rushed away. “I’ll talk to you later.”

He watched her go all the way down the hall and through the glass doors. Cute ass, that he wanted to grab, swishing back and forth. A broad smile broke out on his face, and he turned to head back to his office, almost running over Claire in the process.

His smile dropped when he saw the scowl on her face. Nothing good could come of running into her. “Claire,” he said as politely as he could. One date, that’s all they’d had. And it was enough for him to know he didn’t want to see her again. It might have been the first time he realized dipping into the workplace dating pool was a fairly bad idea. But he didn’t think he’d run into her again. Satyr was big enough to where that was possible.